Warnings Unheeded
by fandombloggingaddict
Summary: Drabble. Nate doesn't listen to Eliot's warnings, and Parker's life hangs in the balance when the drunk mastermind lets the plan go to shit, assuming Eliot can get in position on time. Eliot does his best to get her out alive, even if he has to sacrifice himself.


**A/N: This is just a drabble, I just had to express my frustration with Nate for never listening to Eliot. Eliot warns him that he's out of control, Nate tells him to go skip some rope, and every time the team's lives are risked. Eliot hates it a** ** _lot_** **. Nate even ignored him about Moreau! Ugh, it bothers me. I think something would have happened one of those times, because, let's be real, Eliot's an expert at assessing threats. He had to have been right at least once. And when the plan would go to shit, it would be cocky, drunk Nate's fault. Eliot would die for his family. Just my thoughts.**

"I'm out of position."

It was the phrase he feared the most. He didn't want to think it, didn't want to say it. Positioning was everything. If he wasn't fast enough, if he didn't dispatch the right combatants at the right time and get to his place to defend the others, they could go down hard. He'd had to say it a few times, but Nate had managed to improvise or work the plan around a new playing field. What if Eliot played a key role, and he wasn't in position when the bullets started flying?

It was his job to protect them. And, hell, on top of that, he was getting used to them. Like family. They were always around, bugging him, staying over, calling him for coffee in the morning or making him cook them dinner. Nate and Sophie were experienced, they were their own team in a way. Nate watched her role. But he left Parker and Hardison to do what they did best out of sight. Hardison was in the van or hacking a computer system on site, Parker was climbing through vents and sneaking around the mark's business. If one of them was caught, Nate and Sophie would have no part of it, holding up their end of the con until they could get out. It was Eliot's job to have Parker and Hardison's backs, to know where they were and to be in position to take out any guards giving them trouble. A few seconds late and they could be taken, they could be killed.

This time, it was Nate's fault. He got cocky. He got emotionally invested. He got a drink in his hands, and the plan went to hell. Nate was switching up the play left and right, and Eliot was left gauging his projected position when Parker would be at risk. On top of that, the guards' schedules were switched last minute for security.

All in all, it was the hitter's worst scenario. He was out of position, and Parker was surrounded by gun-wielding guards.

"Parker's got guards on all sides," Hardison reported, typing away and watching the camera feed.

"Dammit, Nate, I'm outta position!"

"You'll make it," The mastermind said nonchalantly. He continued to engage with the other guests at the party.

Eliot growled loudly and pushed from a run into a sprint, shooting down hallways and around corners to make it in time.

He heard a gunshot, not over the comms but a few hundred feet away.

Hardison watched, switching from camera to camera at the press of a button, as Eliot barreled toward Parker's position. The hacker's gut clenched at the situation. Nate had screwed up, and now Parker's life was in Eliot's hands. And Eliot had warned Nate that this would happen. If Eliot didn't make it...

A gunshot rang out and Hardison's eyes shot to the screen showing Parker. One of the men had fired at her when she started running. Thank god he missed. As she ran, she grabbed one of the men she passed and spun so he was in the line of fire. The bullet hit him in the arm and he yelled. The situation had escalated, and Eliot still wasn't there. The guards chased after Parker, the one with the bleeding arm following with a shout of anger.

When Eliot made it to the room, there was no one there. Just a spent shell on the ground. And blood.

The hitter bellowed and ran in the direction that Parker and the guards had gone in.

"Eliot, man, it's not her blood!" Hardison promised through the comms. "One of the guards was hit."

Eliot didn't respond.

"Nate, we're blown. Get out of there."

"We can handle it," The mastermind replied, hiding his response behind a sip of scotch.

"I'm calling the mark to tell him you're there. You have ten seconds."

"Hardison, don't be a child."

The mark's phone started ringing. He excused himself with the conversation to pick it up.

"Hello, is this Mr. Lahey?" The hacker said in a deadpan voice into his cell.

"You're bluffing," Nate muttered.

"We're going," Sophie said, grabbing the drunk by the arm and pulling him toward the exit.

Hardison hung up the phone. When the mark turned around to continue his conversation, Nate and Sophie were gone.

The hacker heard shouting through the hacked security feed and scanned the cameras to find the source. Eliot had found the men. They started firing at him. Parker hesitated, seeing a bullet catch Eliot in the shoulder, before he yelled, "Run!" and she did.

The hitter took out five men before the second bullet hit him in the gut and he staggered back. Three guys left. He stood still a second too long, and as he launched forward to tackle the guard nearest him, the man took another shot. The bullet tore through his calf and Eliot yelled. He still took the guy down and delivered a heavy punch to the guy's temple, knocking him out. One of the other guards descended on him then and, with the help of the last guy, dragged the hitter off the downed man with a choke hold. Eliot struggled, but the hold was secure and the other guy held Eliot's arms. The hitter tried to twist free, but his fight died out in a few seconds, and then he was unconscious.


End file.
